Grader



March 8, 1949. w. STA'DLER GRADER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1946Robe/5W. Stadler WIMYM/ R. W. STADLER GRADER March 8, 1949:,

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 29, 1946 Uhvenfor V I Roberi VV. SadlerMarch 8, 1949. R. w. STADLER 2,464,003

GRADER Filed Jan. 29 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Unveni'or -i W Si'adler a m44$ w lil lllvlllll v QUQR Patented Mar. 8, 1949 HITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to graders and more particularly to an instrumentfor use with graders.

More particularly this invention relates to an instrument for use withgraders that will visibly indicate the position of the blade of thegrader with respect to the plane of the supporting surfaces of thegrader.

By the present invention I have provided a novel instrument forattachment to graders when final grading is to be performed thatobviates all prexisting difiiculties experienced by operators inmaintaining the desired grade and removes the necessity of dependingupon visual estimate by the operator as to proper blade adjustment.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novelinstrument for use with graders which will eliminate the need forestimating grade and blade position by the operator.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a. novelinstrument for use with graders that will automatically show theoperator when the cutting edge of the blade is in the plane of thesupporting surfaces of the grader.

Another and further object of the present invention is to provide anovel instrument for use with graders that will automatically show theoperator when the cutting edge of the blade has left the plane of thesupporting surfaces of the grader, in what direction the error hasoccurred and will automatically indicate when the cutting edge of theblade has been brought back to this plane.

Other and further objects of the present invention will appear as thedescription thereof proceeds.

The several figures of the drawings show an i1- lustrative embodiment ofthe present invention and should not be construed as limiting ordefining the present inventive concept. For this purpose referenceshould be made to the appended claims.

In the several figures in which like reference characters indicatesimilar parts,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a motor grader with one embodiment of thepresent invention attached thereto and recording the position of thecutting edge of the blade in the plane of the supporting surfaces of thegrader;

Fig. 2 is a view of the embodiment of the present invention of Fig. 1shown at right angles to the grader frame;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an expanded view of the base elements of the embodiment of thepresent invention shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7' is a View of a front end assembly suitabl for use with thepresent invention.

Referring now to the several figures, I0 is any suitable gradersupported by rear wheels I I, front wheels 12, driven by motor l3 andprovided with a frame [4. Mounted for universal movement on frame M isdraw-bar carrying circle it from which is hung blade I! as by arms Hi.It is to be understood that the blade supporting structure can be of anyusual or desired construction. Blade I1 is raised and lowered andadjusted angularly by any suitable and well known mechanisms here shownfor illustration as driven arms it and circle drive IS.

The front end of frame [4 may be raised and lowered with respect tofront wheels !2 by any suitable mechanism. As shown in Fig. '7 thismechanism may comprise a member telescopically mounted in frame itcarrying front wheel axle 2i and moved into and out of frame 2% bythreaded rod 22 driven by worm 23 actuated by the grader operatorthrough drive shaft 24. Threaded rod 22 carries pin iii having anupstanding portion l'l cooperating with a scale 12 visible to the graderoperator to indicate when the front end assembly is in its zero ornormal position. Any suitable steering linkage is used here shown by arm25 mounted upon shaft 26 which is rotated by the grader operator throughshaft 21. The purposes of this telescoping front end assembly willappear more fully hereafter.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 a base plate 28 is suitably secured to thetop of frame M as by arms 29 and boits 30. Base plate 28 is mounted moreor less vertically above blade ll and is provided with flanges 3iforming grooves 32 and is provided with a plurality of linearly arrangedholes 33. A plate 34 is mounted for sliding movement in grooves 32 andhas formed therein linearly arranged holes 35 for cooperation with holes33. A key 3% locks plates 28 and 34 in any suitable relative positionsdepending on the angularity of blade ll to permit members to bemaintained in approximately vertical position to register Zero depth ofcut.

Suitably secured to plate 84 is bar it! of square cross section withslightly rounded corners. Bar 31 is perpendicular to plate 3 and isperpendicular to the plane of the supporting surfaces of the grader whenthe grader front end essembly is in its zero or normal position. Mountedon bar 3! is ring 38 (Fig. 6) the rounded corners of bar 31 allowingfree rotation of ring 38. A yoke 39 is pivoted to ring 38 as by pivots40 and in turn supports tribes 41 by pivots 42. Tubes 4| are supportedin parallel spaced relationship by plate 43 to which they are welded orotherwise suitably secured. Plate 43' is centrally recessed to .embracebar 31. Slidably mounted in tubes ti are tubular members 4-3 arranged inparallel relationship and brought together at their ends 44 to engageand secure members 45 which extend downwardly and pivotally engage bladei'! as at 46.

A second ring 41 (Fig. 3) of square cross section is mounted forvertical movement on bar 3'! but cannot rotate about bar 31. Arms 48 arepivotally mounted on ring 41 at 49.

A third ring 50 of square cross section (Fig. ismounted for verticalmovementronz-bar 31 but cannot rotate thereon. Secured to ring 50 isstraight edge 5! the long sides of which are at right angles to bar 31and therefore parallel to the plane of the supporting surfaces of graderII]. A second straight edge 52 is pivotally mounted on ring 50 at 53 andcarries arms 54 pivotally engaging a brace 55 in turn pivotally engagingringed-at 55. The upperedgesof straight edges 51 and '52 are arranged toappear in the same straight line to the :grader operator when such upperedges are parallel.

Mounted on plate 43 are ball members 51 engaged by socket members .58.of cranks 59.

Cranks as engage cranks 59and: actuate arms :EI

which are pivoted at B2 in arms48 (Fig. 3). Arms 6! are threaded at 63to receive turnbuckles 64. Threaded members 65 .also engage turnbuckles5 and actuate straight edge 52 by pivotally engaging arms 54 at 66.=Cranks .59 are pivoted at 58 to plate 43and are pivoted to cranks 59which are pivoted .in and actuate arms 65 to allow straight edges 5| and52 to remain at right angles to the operators line of vision no matterwhat the angularity of blade ll may be.

Bar 31 is provided with suitable vertically-disposed indices 67 in lineof vision of the grader operator to show when the cutting edge of bladeI! lies in the plane of the supporting surfaces of the grader.Turnbuckles B4 allow adjustment of the instrument of the presentinvention-to take care of tire wear, blade wear and the like so that thepresent invention always accurately records this desired zero,position.

The instrument of the present invention .as just described whilehelpfuland-useful in rough grading and cutting and filling operations isdesigned more particularly for use in final grading after the surface tobe finally graded has been tilled for uniform hardness, rough graded andcompacted to support the weight of the grader so that the blade may cutwith smooth uninterrupted shear at the desired grade. When thiscondition of surface has been reached a master cut of zero transversegrade is made down the middle of the area to be finally graded and thedepth of this cut is adjusted to grade stakes. Suitable transverse andlongitudinal levelling devices may be used on the grader to assure theaccuracy of this master out. After the master cut is completed thegrader with the instrument of the present invention mounted thereon istaken to one end of the master cut and blade I] is given the desiredslopeand the grader moved "to continue with a cut of desired slope.

. line.

forward until the drive wheels reach and rest upon this newly slopedsurface. Immediately thereafter blade i1 is moved into zero position,that is its cutting edge is placed in the plane of the supportingsurfaces of the grader, at any desired angle. It is an erroneous beliefamong operators and designers that anything whatever is accomplished inmaintaining the blade at a desired slope. The blade should be used as atool or a means of keeping the machine supported on a desired slope, atwhich time the blade is returned to the zero position in order In thisadjustment the grader operator need merely observe the position ofstraight edge 52 with respect to straight edge 5| and raise or lower.the ends of blade 1'! until the upper edges of these straight edgesfall in the same straight When this coincidence is obtained the entireblade assembly is raised or lowered until the 'line of the straightedges meets the index 6'! on bar 3'! and the desired Zero position isreached. This zero position is maintained thereafter throughoutthegrading operation since it is only in this-position thataccurate'grading can be done and the graderzmaintained at the desiredangle of slope.

With the grader blade I! in zero position the grader isrnoved. along oneedgeof the master cut the operator maintaining the toe of blade IT incontact with this edge by raising or lowering the front of frame [4 byactuating shaft 24, worm 23 and rod 22. As many passes are-made with thegrader as may be necessary to obtain the desired width of gradedsurface. On each pass themachine is given the desired slope trans-.versely and the operator maintains the toe .of blade I? in contactwith'the edge of the previous out by raising and lowering the frontendnof 'frameJ-d. Thus agrade ofdesired slopeis easily and accuratelyobtained without departing from zero position of the cuttingedge of theblade. after the grader is once placed at a transverse angle equal tothe slope desired for each out.

.It will .now be'apparent thatby the present invention .1 have provideda novel instrument foruse with graders which eliminates operatorestimates of grade slope andblade position, shows when the .cutting edgeof the blade .is not in coincidence withthe plane of thesupportingsurfacesof the grader and in which direction and shows whenthis zero position has been obtained.

To those skilled in the art changes to or modifications of the abovedescribed illustrative embodiment of the present invention may now besuggested without departing from the present inventive concept. Todetermine the scope of the present invention reference should be had tothe appended claims.

What. is. claimed. is:

.1. Inan instrument of the type definedincluding a grader framesupporting a scraper blade, a base ,adjustably mounted on the top of agrader frame, an upright carried by said base,'. a straight edge mountedfor vertical movement on said upright. and fixed at right anglesthereto, a second straight edge mounted for vertical movement withsaidfirst straight edge on saidupright and for rotational movement in avertical plane and means connecting said second straight edge .to

the scraperblade.

2. In an instrument of the type defined'including a grader framesupportinga .scraperblade, an upright mounted on the top of agrader'frame,

.straight edges mounted together for vertical movement on said upright,one of said straight edges being fixed at right angles to said uprightand the other of said straight edges being mounted for rotation in avertical plane and adjustable means connecting the other of saidstraight edges to the scraper blade.

3. In a device for indicating the position of the edge of a scraperblade with respect to the plane of the supporting surfaces of the graderincluding a grader frame and scraper blade, an upright mounted on thegrader frame perpendicular to the plane of the supporting surfaces ofthe grader, straight edges mounted for vertical movement together onsaid upright, one of said straight edges being fixed parallel to theplane of the supporting surfaces of the grader and the other of saidstraight edges being mounted for rotation in a vertical plane andlinkage operatively connecting the other of said straight edges to thescraper blade.

4. In a grader including a grader frame, wheels supporting the graderframe and a scraper blade carried by the grader frame, an uprightadjustable longitudinally of the grader frame and perpendicular to theplane of the supporting areas of the wheels, cooperating straight edgesmounted for vertical movement together on said upright, one of saidstraight edges being fixed parallel to the plane of the supporting areasof the wheels and the other rotatable in a vertical plane to an anglewith said fixed straight edge indicative of the vertical angle of thecutting edge of the scraper blade, with the plane of the supportingareas of the wheels, and actuating means connecting the other of saidstraight edges to the scraper blade.

5. A device as defined in claim 3 in which the linkage moves thestraight edges vertically on the upright to show the vertical positionof the cutting edge of the scraper blade with respect to the plane ofthe supporting surfaces of the grader and rotates the other of thestraight edges to show the vertical angle of the cutting edge of thescraper blade with respect to the plane of the supporting surfaces ofthe grader.

6. A device as defined in claim 3 in which indices are carried by theupright for registration with the straight edges when the cutting edgeof the scraper blade is in the plane of the supporting surfaces of thegrader.

7. A device as defined in claim 3 in which indices are carried by theupright for registration with the straight edges when the cutting edgeof the scraper blade is in the plane of the supporting surfaces of thegrader and in which the linkage is adjustable to initially regulate thedevice to bring the strai ht edges into registration with the indiceswhen the cutting edge of the scraper blade is in the plane of thesupporting surfaces of the grader.

8. In a device of the class described including a grader and a scraperblade, a pair of cooperating straight edges movable vertically toregister the vertical position of the cutting edge of the scraper bladewith respect to the plane of the supporting surfaces of the grader, oneof said straight edges being fixed parallel to this plane and the otherbeing rotatable vertically to show the vertical angle of the cuttingedge of the scraper blade with respect to this plane and adjustablelinkage operatively connecting the rotatable straight edge to thescraper blade.

ROBERT W. STADLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,277,623 Matthews Sept. 3, 19181,706,256 Ronning et a1 Mar. 19, 1929 2,292,241 Reeves Aug. 4, 19 2

